Credit card alert as hackers target 77 million PlayStation users

Access to PlayStation Network was suspended a week ago, but Sony only revealed details of data theft today

Fury as Sony announces breach in blog post just hours after launching tablets at high-profile event

Millions of people may be issued with new credit cards over fears their banking details have been stolen by thieves hacking into the Sony PlayStation Network.

The personal information of 77million people around the world is thought to have been compromised.

Some three million Britons – who use the Sony system to play computer games against people in the UK and other countries – have been caught up in the biggest criminal hack on record.

Scroll down for video and Sony's full announcement

Massive blow: Sony has admitted that the credit card details of 77million PlayStation users could have been stolen by hackers last week

HOW TO STOP THE CRIMINALS?

Victims of hacking have been warned to watch out for spam emails, ‘spear phishing’ attacks - targeted attempts to acquire confidential information - and unauthorised spending.

Spammers will send out emails which look like a genuine communication. Victims will be asked to fill in an online form.

Often spam will come with an attachment. Clicking on it will automatically download malicious software - malware - which is used to steal passwords.

The best advice when dealing with a suspect email is to delete it and never open attachments.

WHAT HAS BEEN STOLEN?

Sony said it believed hackers have obtained the following details from its PlayStation Network users:

Name

Address details including postcode, city and country

Email address

Date of birth

PlayStation Network / Qriocity passwords and login

Handle / PSN online ID

The theft of data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses and log-in details.

Credit card details may also have been taken. Bank industry body
Financial Fraud Action UK has issued an urgent alert to victims.

It said it was working with Sony to identify British consumers involved
and set up alerts on their credit card accounts to check for unusual use
or purchases.

A spokesman added that if accounts were hijacked by criminals, banks would set up new accounts and issue new cards.

He said: ‘The banking industry has robust processes in place to protect
customers’ accounts by monitoring for suspicious transactions.’

FFA UK said there was no need for customers to contact their bank or
card company at this stage

True extent revealed: Sony took a week to admit that the personal details of million of PlayStation users have been stolen. Sony boss Ken Kutaragi (right) and the firm's U.S. CEO Kaz Hirai launch the PS3 in 2005

Game off: The PlayStation Network first went down last Wednesday

WHAT DO I DO IF MY DATA HAS BEEN STOLEN?

How will I know if I've been affected?To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, Sony has told people to monitor card statements.

Will I be reimbursed if hit financially?If you get hit with a phishing attack and people access your accounts, then the banks will reimburse. Same with credit cards.

What do I do when the network's up and running?Sony recommends changing your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated accounts, they strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

However, it added that customers should
check statements and keep an eye on accounts for unusual activity.

There are concerns that many people use the same password for their Sony
account as for other online activities, including banking.

FFA UK warned: ‘We recommend that they should change these passwords as soon as possible.

‘Similarly, customers may have had their email addresses and telephone
numbers compromised, so they should be wary of responding to any
unsolicited emails or phone calls.’

It said innocent victims of fraud will get their money back from their
bank or card company. The Information Commissioner has launched an
investigation, saying it takes such incidents ‘extremely seriously’.

The Sony hack is the latest in a number of web security breaches to hit
consumers in recent weeks.

Millions of customers of Marks & Spencer,
Play.com and Trip Advisor have had personal details stolen.

Sony has
shut down its PlayStation Network, apologised to customers and announced
an independent security review.

However, many customers complained that
it took it a full week to reveal the extent of the breach.

Game off: The PlayStation Network first went down last Wednesday

We didn't do it: Members of the hackers group Anonymous, with their trademark masks, at an event in Los Angeles. The group has denied all responsibility for the Sony shutdown

SONY'S BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT IN FULL

Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services.

We don’t have an exact date to share at this moment as to when we will have the services turned on, but are working day and night to ensure it is as quickly as possible.

We are currently working to send the following message via email to all of our registered account holders regarding a compromise of personal information as a result of this malicious attack on our servers, so please look for this information via email as well.

Please note that we are as upset as you are regarding this attack and
are going to proceed aggressively to track down those that are
responsible.

Valued PlayStation Network / Qriocity Customer,

We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:

Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

Engaged an outside, recognised security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and

Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorised person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state / province, zip or postal code), country, email address, birth date, PlayStation Network /Q riocity passwords and login, and handle / PSN online ID.

It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network / Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorised a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained.

While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, to be on the safe side we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security, tax identification or similar number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking.

When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant to review your account statements and to monitor your credit or similar types of reports.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible.

Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority.

Please check www.eu.playstation.com/psnoutage should you have any additional questions.